The Basque Security Councilor “regrets” the attacks by the Ertzaintza on Flotilla activists, but speaks of “provocations” | Spain

The Security Councilor of Euskadi, Bingen Zupiria, indicated this Sunday that he “regrets” between the Ertzaintza and the members of the Basque delegation of the Flotilla, who landed in Loiu around 2:00 p.m. Zupiria has spoken of “provocations” and “pushing” when the six members of the group posed for the media. This caused a moment of great tension in the terminal that resulted in charges against the activists and those who were waiting for them. There were four arrested for disobedience. Zupiria said this Sunday that he assumes “first-hand” responsibility for what happened in Loiu, as well as “the responsibility of investigating whether the actions of the Ertzaintza agents who intervened complied with what is established by the directives that are in force.”

“It was so that the people who arrived could receive the greeting of those who were waiting and it was also so that the people who were leaving [el aeropuerto] They could do it normally. Looking at the images, it is evident that we achieved neither one nor the other,” Zupiria expressed in a statement to the media in Durango. “I regret what happened yesterday and I also regret it doubly. I regret the events and the burdens and the situations that occurred and I regret it especially because it was agreed how it should have developed,” the counselor noted before settling that “what happened should not have happened.”

The head of the Security Department of Euskadi has pointed out that inside the Bilbao airport terminal there were “provocations” and “pushing” that caused “this situation that does nothing to benefit either the country, the Ertzaintza or society in general. I think that is not the way to resolve conflicts, but I think that, once again, it shows that some situations we do not all know how to manage normally.”

The organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla expressed this Saturday their “deep indignation” and “condemnation” after the action of the Ertzaintza against its members, which they described as an example of “police brutality.” Amnesty International regretted the “excessive use” of force used by the agents. “The published images do not show any legitimate cause for the use of force. It is very serious that people who had already been knocked down and were on the ground have been repeatedly beaten with batons,” they indicated in a statement published on the social network

In an interview on RTVE’s 24 Hours Channel, Javier Aparicio, a Spanish member of the Flotilla, indicated that “there was no worse way to get home,” in reference to the incidents recorded at the Bilbao airport. “It was a shock to encounter that level of violence that was so gratuitous and also shocking for all of us who saw it, the image of the police officer’s knee on our colleague’s neck, in the same way that the Israeli occupation forces had detained and mobilized us for days,” he noted.